Never Fair
by the-speed-reader
Summary: She's far too sleepy — she has to be, to be thinking that she might possibly be falling for Tadashi Hamada. / Tomadashi, pre-movie.


_Well, hello again! Here's another one guys. I love this couple so much - they are gorgeous and amazing and brilliant. I've been working on this piece for the past few hours, so I hope you guys like!_

_I know that GoGo's real name in the movie is Ethel, but in the comics it's Leiko. I like the name Leiko better, so I integrated it into this story. _

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><p>"<em>If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.<em>"_ -_Emily Bronte_  
><em>

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><p>It's two a.m. and she can't freakin' <em>sleep<em>.

Groaning, GoGo snaps her eyes open again and glares at the darkened ceiling, the only light in the room streaming slivers through the window on her right. There's some honking and the occasional sound of the neighbor's dog having at it, but otherwise there's nothing at all that should be preventing her from sleeping.

It's something else, and GoGo doesn't know what. She had crashed sometime around midnight after _hours _of working on her bike and sleepily catching the late-night bus from the college, but had only been able to sleep for maybe an hour before something had woken her up; it's annoying and she's ready to _murder_ someone for even just a few more hours of sleep. She'd spent far too many nights at the college lately and it was killing her sleep schedule — that, and her diet. GoGo had spent way too much money (that she didn't have) on coffee that was probably now permanently running through her blood.

GoGo rolls over again, tosses and turns until it feels like the air is stifling and the walls are closing in on her. She smacks her head against her pillow, fingernails digging into the thin pillow cover with vengeance. Groaning again, she pops an eye open at the blinking neon letters beside her bed.

_2:37, _the numbers spell tauntingly back at her, and she clenches her teeth. Throwing the blanket off, she steps onto the wooden planks and makes a beeline for the window, tossing it open with a _thud _that seems to rumble through her eardrums and leaves her wincing. Her neighbors hate it when she's making noise this late.

The cool air sends a chill through her veins, allowing GoGo to take a full breath for what felt like the first time in a while. She slumps against the wall, her socked feet sliding across the floor with a sort of comfort.

Setting her head back against the wall, GoGo blows a breath of air between her lips, ankles crossing over one another. It's tiring, living like this; although, it is better than before in her previously crappy apartment where she'd barely gotten any sleep due to the infestation of mice that had crawled through the walls. Due to a small amount of money released to her from her deceased parents when she turned eighteen, GoGo had been able to rent in this half-way decent place. It really wasn't that bad anyway, except when the four-year-old next door decided to have a screaming fit.

Slamming the back end of her heel against the floor, GoGo grabs for her decades-old phone plugged into the wall. She types the second number on the speed dial before holding it up to her ear. She's wide awake now. Might as well.

After a few rings, there's a sleepy (if not a bit disgruntled) voice coming from the other end. "Leiko?" she hears softly. "What're you — it's three in the morning!"

The thing is, he doesn't sound surprised and she smirks, knowing he can't see her. "It's GoGo," she quips back. "Haven't heard my real name in a while. Must be really sleepy, Tadashi."

He growls at her. Literally growls, and it sends an uncomfortable thumping against her ribcage. "Why are you_ calling_?"

Her fingernails tap against the floorboards as she contemplates how to respond. "I couldn't sleep," GoGo finally admits, stilling her fingers. "Can't figure out why though."

She hears a faint shuffle and she knows he's rolling over then, pressing his head underneath his pillow as to stifle his voice so he doesn't wake his brother. Tadashi had always been thoughtful like that.

"Alright," he mumbles, brain still addled with sleep. "You need to talk?"

GoGo hesitates for a moment. "I—" she stops on the first word, unsure of how he'd react to her request. "Can you meet me somewhere?"

There's silence as he ponders her request and she holds her breath, her pulse quickening. She'd called him a thousand times before, but never like this. Never asking to meet.

It was different, she knows, but maybe it's time for something a little different.

"GoGo," he finally sighs. "I hate you."

The corners of her lips quirk into a smile. "See you in ten."

She presses the little red button in the bottom corner, the ache in her chest dissipating.

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><p>The moon is still shining fully when GoGo arrives at the 24hr place a few blocks from her house, stepping in with an elegance that she didn't really feel, dressed in a pair of old jeans and a baggy tee. She orders two cups of coffee (both black, Tadashi and her had never really cared for cream, milk, or the ungodly amount of sugar that the rest of their little groups loved) and settles on a table in the back corner, waiting. Listening.<p>

Tadashi arrives not three minutes later, with ruffled hair and an old cardigan with a hole in the side pocket. He slips into the seat beside her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he motions for the coffee. She hands it over, fingers brushing his. She nods her head.

"You're welcome," GoGo quips, tilting her head to the side as she watches him drink. She can feel the sleep settling in her bones, but there's something about being out in the dead of night that makes everything exhilarating.

He doesn't respond for a moment or two as he gulps down the drink. It isn't until the liquid is half gone that he sets the foam cup down, propping his head up on one hand.

"Hey," Tadashi murmurs, quirking his smile to one side. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," GoGo replies, gaze meeting his. She doesn't really know why she wanted to meet with him, only that she did. He's — different, than the others.

Leaning forward, she swipes his coffee out of his reach, taking a long sip. He protests by jabbing her in the ribs, causing her to nearly choke on the liquid.

"Now that," she jokes, waving a finger at him. "Was not very nice at all. How _un-_gentleman-y of you, Mr. Hamada."

He waves a hand, propping his head to the side once more. "Who says I was ever a _gentleman_?"

That last word sends shivers down her spine and goosebumps rising on her skin; GoGo leans back as to cover it up, toeing the tip of his boot with her own.

"Thanks for coming," she whispers, just barely loud enough so he could hear her.

"Anytime," he responds, eyes meeting hers.

That pounding against her ribcage is back, only it isn't so uncomfortable anymore; it's nice now, calming almost.

They sit there for in silence for a while, finishing their coffee. GoGo isn't talking about why she rushed him out here and he's not pressuring her to. It's — good.

When her eyes catch glimpse of the time, she sighs. "It's nearly five," GoGo murmurs, shock leaking through her voice. They'd been there for a while, so long that she hadn't even noticed the time go by. "We better go."

She's imagining the hint of disappointment across his face when she says those words — right?

"Alright," he agrees, getting up and offering her his hand. GoGo takes it, bowing into an almost curtsy as they stumble out the door and spill into the street.

She hasn't let go of his hand.

She wonders if it means something, like the goosebumps on her skin and the thumping beneath her ribs.

She's far too sleepy — she has to be, to be thinking that she might possibly be falling for Tadashi Hamada.

But they're turning down her street then (_he walked me home, _that annoying voice in the back of her head squeals) as they walk with her taking two steps to keep up with every one of his. It's annoying that he's a reasonable height of a few inches short of six feet and she's 5'4".

He pauses at her door, his thumb rubbing along the pads of her fingers. She looks up at him sleepily, raising her eyebrows at the look on his face.

"Tadashi?" she asks, moving her free hand up to brush across his cheek. "You alright?"

Tadashi blinks down at her, mouth forming into a smile. "Yeah," he whispers. "I'm alright, Leiko."

That's the second time he's said her real name tonight. GoGo tilts her head, brushing her finger against stray a hair that had fallen from underneath his cap.

He blows a breath, free hand moving to brush against her lip. She freezes; it's almost as if she can't breathe as he stares down at her, expression nearly longing. He doesn't — does he?

"Tadashi," she repeats his name, a coil of heat flaring up in her middle. "Tadas—"

He's kissing her then, lips closing over hers with little hesitance; he's shaking, she realizes as his pulse flickers beneath her fingers as her hand slips down over his chest. She's trembling too as his tongue runs itself over her bottom lip, their fingers coming closer together.

It's almost weird, kissing him — it's different. Not that GoGo hasn't imagined this before (oh no, never) but it's everything and nothing all at once. She's no longer cold; his skin feels like an inferno to the touch as their hands come together between them. There's too many layers between them.

They break apart after a few moments, breathing heavy and gazes locked. She isn't sure what to do next. She could invite him up, but — now isn't the time. There's going to be time for that, and this, whatever is going on between them, is fragile. She doesn't want it to break.

He kisses her one last time, this time with her tongue between his lips flicking at the roof of his mouth and _he _being the one trembling out of his skin. She breaks away just for him to press their foreheads together, palms spreading over one another.

"Goodnight," Tadashi murmurs, a breathy laugh coming into the air. "'Night, 'Go."

GoGo smiles up him, still feeling the results of the past few minutes. "'Night, Tadashi," she whispers back. "See you tomorrow."

He pulls away, walking backwards carefully down the street. She sees his face up until he turned the corner, expression young and vibrant and _gorgeous_.

She turns the key in the lock with shaking hands.

This is — unlike anything that's ever happened before.

But she _likes _it.

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><p>They don't get tomorrow.<p>

He burns in fire, his last words washed away in the wind.

She gets pain, screaming until her voice gives out.

It's not fair.

It's _never_ fair.

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><p>"Tadashi Hamada was our best friend," she finds herself saying, moving up to put a hand on Hiro's shoulder. He looks so much like his brother.<p>

It hurts her to say those words. Because Tadashi was so much _more _than that.

She never even got to say goodbye.

"We're in."

Everything _hurts_.

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><p><em>I warned you guys: anguish is my friend and tragedy is my closest companion. <em>

_There the heart-breaking piece of the night. See you all soon! (That last little scene was from my memory of the movie with added little pieces, in case you guys didn't notice.)_


End file.
